Cholera Cholera is found in contaminated aquatic environments. The Moneran “bacteria” that causes the disease is found naturally in fresh and salt water, and it is attached primarily to copepods and zooplankton. There are both, toxic and non-toxic strains that exist naturally. Cholera was originally found in the Indian subcontinent, with the Ganges River serving as the contaminated water. It then spread throughout the world, through trade on water routes. By…John Magliocco

Vibrio cholerae The causative agent of Cholera is the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The class of Vibrio cholerae is a Gamma Proteobacteria. The symptoms of the disease are diarrhea and dehydration. The diarrhea is usually so severe, that oral rehydration therapy is needed right away. A healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the symptoms. The disease may progress from the first diarrhea to shock in 4 to 12 hours. Death may follow in 18 hours or a few days without rehydration. The major organ system affected is the small intestine. The major organ system affected is the digestive system. This type of Gram-negative bacteria makes cholera toxin, which affects the mucosal lining in the small intestine, which in turn causes the diarrhea. Causative agent and Symptoms of the disease

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae is transmitted through the ingestion of water or food contaminated by the diarrhea filled with the bacteria. The water that gets people sick is usually untreated ground or drinking water that has been exposed to a victims infected diarrhea. When this water is used for cooking, the food then gets contaminated as well. Eating shellfish exposed to the bacteria, can also transmit the disease. An interesting fact is that our eleventh president, James K. Polk had Cholera and died from it. The first pandemic began in Bengal, then spread across to India by The disease spread as far as China for the first pandemic. Transmission and Historical Facts